Equivocation
by Airia Black
Summary: Arthur Pendragon, a royal plot for the crown, three love interests and a final marriage. The king of Far Far Away is about to be scandalized.


**Chapter One: **_The King and the Mysterious Rider_

The once newly crowned king of Far Far Away, fours years and counting, mounted his royal stead, a pure white cremello Arabian, and directed the whinnying creature towards the well-worn trader's road that swung adjacently around the backside of the palace. When he had told his court advisors he planned on taking a short ride, they, in all naïveté, assumed it would be a quick jaunt into the town's center below, accompanied by the appreciated, but sometimes rather annoying fan-far of his grateful citizens. Arthur Pendragon however, wanted no such thing, and after weeks of being surrounded by stuffy councilmen and cabinet members, took it upon himself to escape the palace guards and snuck into the lofty forest hunting grounds behind the royal gardens. He dismounted his horse, and quietly while motioning for his beastly companion to remain still, pulled open a long forgotten well-worn wooden door that intercepted in-between the high stone walls of the palace grounds. The door was barely visible to the naked eye, as a thick layer of vines had grown over the dark wood, and over the years had become so dense that not even Arthur himself would have ever spotted it if it wasn't for his Aunt Lillian, the former Queen, who some years back had shown him the door as a means of escape from the overwhelming duties of palace life.

Since his royal inauguration four years back, he has used the door many a times, and always had returned to the exasperated faces of his advisors, who like the befuddled old men they were, assumed the worst and were on the brink of sending out a royal search party in order to retrieve the young lad. Arthur however, merely waved them off, telling them they worried too much, and adeptly, lied through his teeth, telling them he had been down in the market place or by the riverside or somewhere equally inconspicuous and mildly unguarded. Of course, the old men scrutinized their king with weary eyes, unable to agree on whether he was indeed telling them the truth, or simply feeding them a cock-and-bull story meant to throw them off his trail. Either way, Arthur, or "Artie" as he preferred to be called, at age twenty, was still using the hidden door without much trouble, and so assumed his advisors were still none the wiser of his little secret.

With the door opened just enough for Arthur and his horse, he lead the stead through the vine covered archway and out onto the dusty, wheel rutted road, which in one direction, curved around the backside of the wall before taking a sharp right and descending down the mountain side into the town below. However, if following the road in the other direction, it would lead into the thick, ancient forest, inhabited by many a magical creature before emerging some twenty minutes later into tranquil, roaming countryside, mostly tilled by farmers. Slowly, as if not to make a sound, he shut the door behind him, and with one final look, re-mounted his horse and slapped the reigns, the white stallion bucking slightly before taking off, racing down the dirt road in the direction of the forest.

* * *

Stripped down to nothing but bear-brown leggings and a red lofty tunic with the kingdoms emblem woven onto he front, accompanied by a chaste leather belt which securely held his sword, and a pair of beaten leather boots, Arthur looked nothing the part of His Royal Highness as his horse strolled leisurely through the countryside. In fact, his clothing resembled something of that he would have worn during his time at Worcestershire Academy; ill fitting and bedraggled looking, yet not without form. However, the king of Far Far Away had purposely chosen not to adorn his usual royal tunic, nor slip into his high-class well-fitting leather boots, simply because this ride was meant as an escape, and parading around his royal garb with a crown sitting atop his head wasn't exactly the best thing to wear when one didn't want extra attention drawn to themselves.

However, Arthur Pendragon's presence was unmistakable; his sandy-blonde hair and trademark boyishly blue eyes known throughout the land, earning him the nickname of the "Fair-Colored King". A few peasant farmers and their wives waved to the incognito king, and willingly, Arthur waved back. They wouldn't harm him, nor would they mob him like the town's people in Far Far Away. They were simply content with recognition from their King as they continued to tend their massive fields.

Arthur rode on, with little effort was able to forget about the recent meeting with his advisors, as well as the menial royal hum-drum that went with the job description as king. He was tired, and admittedly, couldn't remember a single thing the old men had been talking about in the throne room earlier that day. Something about a ball…a festive event for the upcoming fall harvest in a few months. But Arthur had tuned them out, because really, how long did it take to explain a ball, and lazily, his eyes had been following a stray moth that had been caught up in the tapestry near the large open windows. After some time, given the appropriate amount of head nod's and pensive "_Hmm's_" when needed, Arthur had slouched back in his uncomfortably large throne, and by the third hour of their incessant, but dutiful ramblings, he had gotten up and grinned, simply dismissing them, telling them he desired a short ride with his horse. The men, while slightly annoyed, agreed a break was needed, and requested that his royal highness return in three-quarters of an hour to resume session. Arthur had nodded, agreeing rather quickly, and without further adieu, took leave and headed to the stables.

He was now sure however, that his time was nearing more then his allotted forty-five minutes, and in all honestly, he should really be heading back. With a heavy sigh, he patted his horse's long sturdy neck and leaning in close to his ear muttered a slightly remorseful:

"Business is business, eh Bereaver?"

The horse whinnied in response, as if to protest his decision, but Arthur, taking firm hold of the reigns, steered the horse's head to his left, leading the animal in an abrupt 180 degree turn. However, as the horse milled around, out of the corner of Arthur's eyes, he caught sight of something in the distance. Behind him in the direction he had once been heading was a figure, as well as another horse. A horse and rider to be exact. As Arthur craned his neck in curiosity to see whoever else might be riding these abandoned back country side roads, he witnessed as the foreign horse suddenly bucked violently and in doing so, flung the tiny rider straight up into the air and onto the hard ground below. Riled with concern, Arthur immediately turned his horse around and raced in the direction of the fallen person.

The fall had looked rather painful, and forgetting any sense of status he may or may not have held, Arthur called out the stranger in the most boyish of ways.

"Mister, hey mister! Are you alright?"

He dismounted his horse, expecting to find the rider lying on the ground injured, however was surprised to see him kneeled over an array of long, thing rusty metal plates, swearing to himself, while preciously rewrapping the items in a tight leather binding.

"Sir?" Arthur tried again. "Are you alright?" He eyed the stranger with caution, and noted the rough looking green tunic was far too big for the boy, and looked rather out of place. On top of that, he was surprised as to how long his hair was. It was at least mid-back and unnaturally straight. Perhaps he was a foreigner…

"I'm fine," the stranger snapped. "Just a little sore from the fall…but I'm fine. Stupid animal."

His voice was unnaturally high and Arthur's brow knitted into a look of confusion. Still, he extended a hand, which the stranger took, and as he helped him up, caught sight of his face and had to do a double take. He was startled for he realized that "he" was actually a "she". It was made evident the moment they made eye contact, for her features were distinctly feminine, and it was only because of the men's clothing she wore that had made him initially think otherwise. However, what was more so startling was the fact that he recognized her. Without a doubt, she was a girl who had also attended Worcestershire Academy alongside him years ago. She however, still seemed to remain oblivious to the fact that they were once classmates. If anything, her attention was with the leather bound metal slates on the ground, and her face grew agitated.

"Henri?" he ventured to ask, still rather shocked to see her here. He was sure it was her. There was no mistaking her sharp, pale blue eyes which came across as a heavy grey. The last he remembered, she had been pulled from school, and if rumor had it correct, absconded on a boat and headed to Duloc. However, he was never much for school gossip, and in all honesty, wasn't exactly sure where his former classmate had gone. All he knew was that she had been missing the last few months of school before he had left to take on his place as king of Far Far Away. The girl's eye's shot forward, and with a look of slight suprise, she took in Arthur's presence, giving him her full attention.

"_Arthur?" _she finally asked, a tone of uncertainty creeping into her voice. She stopped fussing with the bindings, and looked at him. He smiled earnestly and suddenly felt himself feeling awkward and gangly again, much like he was in his academy days.

"So it really is you, Arthur Pendragon," she replied warmly, dusting herself off. She couldn't resist a grin. "My, oh my, you really have grown up since the last time I played you in chess Artie."

"Henrietta Vanderbilt," he atoned, finally remembering the fair skinned girl's full name. "I thought you were a man," he offered after a moment's time.

"Why ever so?" she asked, a hint of amusement lacing her voice. She heaved the heavy looking bundle back onto her shoulder and tightened the strap. "Was it my clothing, or the fact that I was swearing like a sailor?"

Arthur chuckled. Same old Henri.

"Both," he replied. He observed her lithe figure, and after a moment decided that she was far more attractive now then she was in the academy, even with the masculine styled clothing she sported. Back when they had been in the chess club together (a disastrous undertaking for the both of them) she had been nothing but a scrawny, flat-chested second year student who had a fond liking for obliterating Arthur on the chess board with her unnatural skills. "I saw you fall," he finally said as if to explain himself. "And thought you could use some help. But obviously you're tougher then most."

"Obviously," she said with a large grin. but said nothing more on the subject, choosing to remain enigmatic. "It was really nothing," she finally offered as her answer. "This package crashed down onto my horses hind-quarters...or something like that." Arthur accepted this answer, but took the moment to look her over once again. Something about her seemed...different. She seemed to be doing an awful lot of smiling, and from what Arthur remembered of her, she had never been that happy of a girl. Or maybe she was simply just happy to see him again. Not that they had been close friends or anything...no, he never really considered her a friend. Just an acquiantance. She had been one of the select few who out of some strange act of either pity or perhaps apathy, had never participated in the adolescent pranks Arthur had to endure on a daily basis at Worcestershire. More often then not, he caught her rolling her eyes skyward, heavy sighs escaping her breath while Lancelot used him as a target in jousting practice, and on occasion, had even mustered the courage to ask why he did such awful things to poor Arthur to begin with. Arthur however, while enjoying the girls company in chess club, didn't exactly take kindly to her acts of "pity" and was rather off put by the fact that a girl was sticking up for him. It had made him seem weak. And Arthur didn't need to seem weaker then he already was. Looking back on it, he determined he had behaved rather immaturely, and should have probably thanked Henri for her actions, rather then ignore her when not playing chess with her. Still, she would ask him annoying questions during their chess matches, even once going as far as to ask him why he didn't stand for himself, and if it wasn't that, she would direct the conversation in a manner that allowed him to see an equally unhappy and sarcastic girl who was fed up with Academy life. While not stunning popular like his beloved Guinevere had been, she, mainly out of self-inflicted reasons, ranked low on the social hierarchy at Worcestershire, because like Arthur, she participated in nothing and at school sporting events, refused to cheer with the rest of the crowd and sat on the benches looking overly bored and beyond the whole situation. She had once told him that jousting was a stupid sport, simply because it glorified men's' bigotry and their attempts at boosting their ego. That little remark itself had cost the girl dearly, and was later made a spectacal of by the school's jousting team. Suprisingly however, she took the hazing with as Arthur had witnessed, a better lack of caring, and when they were through, had the aloofness to ask if they were done making jackasses out of themselves. She had been bitter, as he remembered, but somehow overly jaded and mature. As if she was too old for academy life, a full-fledged adult in a teenagers body. Even so, she had been nice to him, albeit a tad strange, seeing as she went against the norm, and on occasion would even wave to him in the corridors, only to be visibly ribbed by her friends for communicating with Artie Pendragon, the school reject. Not that that had stopped her or anything. That was until she stopped showing up at their chess club meetings. He remembered joining the club in his second year, if only to make an attempt at "meeting someone new", and while few people joined the club to begin with, Arthur found that even there, he was a social outcast. That was until Henrietta joined. Probably unaware of Arthur's social status, she asked him for a game and soon found himself playing against a partner, who like himself, very much disliked life at Worcestershire. Apparently, she did know about Arthur's supposed "status" at the school, and after Arthur had sarcastically asked why the hell she would bother playing chess against, and if this was all just one big joke, she slapped him and told him to stop being so melodramatic. Arthur did, if only to continue the rest of their match in silence, sulking, where as in upon finishing, Henrietta had called him a big baby and left.

"The only reason why I joined this stupid club," he remembered her telling him. "Was because my father said it would be good to broaden my horizons. But I hate chess," she told him. "I hate everything about it." To be honest, she was actually quite good and beat Arthur, who had been taught by his great Uncle, a chess master, several times.

So once a week he would play Henrietta Vanderbilt at chess, and once a week, he would find himself in a conversation that was free of insults. In fact, they got along rather well, nit-picking at the stupidity and idiocracy of their classmates and their equally stupid school traditions. However, a few months before Shrek had shown up his school and whisked him away to the kingdom of Far Far Away, Henrietta had stopped showing up for their weekly chess match, and after little investigation, heard the rumors of her being pulled out of school. Or maybe she had run away. Either way, he had considered her very lucky and was sort of jealous, because at least she wasn't here anymore.

But now she stood in front of him, four years later, not a scrawny third year student as he had last saw her, but a tall, good-looking young women, who from the looks of how she lugged around the bundle on her back, could match Arthur in strength. He still considered her strange, because really, why was a woman clearly wearing a man's tunic, alongside knee-high leather boots and leggings? Still, her hair was long, and lips cherubic, so it wasn't like she had lost all forms of femininity.

"So tell me," he asked conversationally. "What have you been doing for the past four years?" He hoped the question would warrant some reason to her strange wardrobe and possibly answer why she had dropped out of school.

"Something incredibly scandalous," she answered, her lips turned upwards into a Cheshire cat smile. "At least for someone who had attended the prestigious Worcestershire Academy. Very out of the norm, that is...in fact, it's so scandalous, it gave my father a heart-attack."

"And that _is_?" he asked, amused by her banter. Her behavior mimicked their conversations once held in their school days and Arthur suddenly wondered if she had even changed…

"A secret," she replied, impishly. "If you really want to know, you'll just have to look me up in a directory, won't you? And what about you Artie? What have _you_ been doing?" She changed the subject from herself to him so quickly that Arthur barely had time to think. Still, he was left wondering if she was genuinely serious, because this was the first time in the conversation that he remembered that he was indeed a king, and had been so for the past four years. How did she _not_ know? However, he remembered keenly that she hadn't been at the school assembly where Arthur announced he was leaving in order to take the royal crown, and with that in mind, assumed she was simply unaware.

"I guess you didn't hear what happened," he offered sheepishly.

"Oh?"

"Well, you see a few months after you left Worcestershire, this ogre showed up with this crazy story and-,"

"-And let me guess," she said, cutting him off. "He told you were to be king of some foreign land, far, far away?"

Arthur seemed slightly confused.

"_Why_…yes. How did you know?"

She grinned.

"Oh, I've always known Artie. News of your coronation spread fast, even where I was."

"_You have_?"

Again, she sported an amused smile.

"Yes. However, I wanted to see how long I could get away with being impudent to his Royal Highness."

She grinned wickedly, laughing a little, and Arthur, for the first time in their conversation seemed shocked. This whole time…she had simply just wanted to see how long she could get away without calling him "His Highness"…_Merlin_. Perhaps she had changed. However, before he could do anything, such as reprimand her or even return to the conversation with an equally witty banter, she bowed rather gracefully, her arm extending in a gesture to the king, and as she rose, offered him a simple, "Your Majesty" through an enigmatic smile. Dear lord, her eyes were still stunning. It seemed to be an apology...Henrietta Vanderbilt style. Even so, he noted she was smiling as she called him by his royal status, and so was given the firm feeling that once again she was simply playing around again. As if to mock the formality of the situation and still get away with it. Clever. However, the grin on her face faded as she peered up into the sky, then back to the shadows on the ground, before muttering a pensive: "I'm late, Pablo is going to kill me" to no one in particular. "I'm sorry," she suddenly said. "But I really have to go. Goodbye Artie." It seemed as though she was taking leave. Without another word, she smiled, tipping her fingers off to the young king, and grabbed hold of the reigns of her horse, mounting him quickly, her boots kicking into the animals sides. The horse took off, and as she was racing away, shouted:

"Perhaps I'll see you around Artie. Look me up in Far Far Away. I'm sure you'll find me...not that it would be decent of you!"

Unsure of what she meant by "decent", Arthur was left standing there speechless, unsure of what had just happened, only knowing that he had just been sassed by a former classmate, who in all honesty, was still as strange as ever, and purposely dared to act impish in the presence of the king of Far Far Away. He was also rather curious as to what she meant by scandalous. Scandalous by academy standards, as she had called it, could mean all sorts of things. But to be honest, she was actually rather refreshing...having someone around that was willing to back-talk him rather then simply call him "Your Highness" all day and agree with his every thought and opinion. Still...sighing, he looked up at the sky and he too realized he was going to be late. He had been standing here talking to her longer then he had thought. Knowing this, he took his own sweet time in returning to the palace, because really, he was already going to be yelled at, so what exactly was the point in rushing?

* * *

**AN:** So here's chapter one. This is the first actual "story" I've attempted on here in a while, being as most of my works have become one-shots. Opinions, thoughts, questions? Review please, and I'll try to answer.

Canon Shrek characters in the future include: Lancelot, Guin, Arthur's cousin Morgan Le Fay, and his other cousin, Fiona, just to name a few. As obvious, there will be fairy-tale creatures included.


End file.
